AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is not just for migrations. It can also replicate data continuously between databases, using Change Data Capture (CDC) to capture changes in the transaction log. With the new Native CDC Start Points, you can precisely control the replication start point, using the native Log Sequence Numbers defined by the database, such as SCN for Oracle or LSN in SQL Server.

Native CDC Start Points open up new database replication possibilities, because you can use native database tools to load data into the source database, then specify the exact point to start replication.

With this release, we’re also introducing DMS Checkpoints. When you stop a replication task, DMS sets a checkpoint so you can resume replication from the exact place in the transaction log. This means you can take your entire database infrastructure down, bring it back when you need it, and resume processing changes where you left off. You can also pause your database migration to deal with a migration failure. For more details, see this blog post.

Native CDC Start Points and Checkpoints are supported for Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL data sources. Please visit the DMS product page and the documentation for more information, and see the AWS Region Table for complete regional availability.